Sabres notebook: Peters thrilled to be a Devil
NEWARK, N.J. — Andrew Peters spent most of the summer waiting for a team to call. The role of enforcer is an occupation with fewer and fewer NHL employers, and for a while it looked as if the 29-year-old might have to look to a different league or profession.
The New Jersey Devils finally rang, inviting the longtime Buffalo Sabres forward to training camp on a tryout. They didn't make any promises, just agreed to give the big guy a shot.
They ended up giving him a blast that floored him. Peters went from being unwanted to proud owner of a two-year, $1 million contract.
"Words can't even describe how happy I was when [Devils President] Lou [Lamoriello] brought me into his office and said, "Here's your contract,' " Peters said Wednesday. "I looked at it and I was like, "Beautiful. Beautiful.' "
Peters grew up in the Buffalo organization, playing eight years for the Sabres and their minor-league affiliate. The Sabres visited the Devils on Wednesday, and Peters was wondering what it would be like to face off against his friends.
He'll have to keep wondering. Devils coach Jacques Lemaire decided against dressing Peters in the Prudential Center.
"It would have been a little different, but whatever," Peters said. "I'm disappointed when I don't play. I'm not angry. You want to play every game, no more today than any other day, to be quite honest with you. All the games you sit, you always want to be in.
"There's no more disappointment just because it's Buffalo. It's disappointment any game, but that comes with my role. It's what you sign up for, to do this job. You're not going to play every night. I know that. I've been doing this for five years. I'm just happy to be in this league for as long as I have been. It's an honor to be even scratched in an NHL game. I could be playing in the American League. There's no anger whatsoever."
Peters was expendable against the Sabres mainly because Buffalo doesn't have anyone of his ilk. The Sabres decided against keeping a strict enforcer, which is why Peters needed a job in the first place.
He likes where he landed. He and his wife, Erin, have purchased a home about 15 minutes from the rink.
She was a teacher back in Western New York, and until she gets her New Jersey certification, she'll help get settled in their new town.
As for his new team, Peters walks into the dressing room every day and sits next to the winningest goaltender of all time, Martin Brodeur.
"He's always good next to the goalies," Sabres netminder Ryan Miller said. "I sat next to Petey for a long time and played with Petey for a long time. He knows when to keep it light. He knows when to keep quiet. That's good when you're sitting next to the goalie.
"He's just a great guy, a great team person. He does have a lot to contribute hockey-wise. It's just too bad he couldn't fit into our plans."
The Devils' plans seem to be to use Peters against teams with a tough guy. He's dressed in four of their 10 games, squaring off against Philadelphia, the Rangers, Washington and Atlanta. Aside from a new color scheme, he has a new uniform number, too, dropping from 76 to 25.
"That's what they gave me," Peters said. "The numbers don't go higher than 30, except for the other goalie. I got here and that's the number I had, and I wasn't in position to ask for anything different. So I just said, "Yeah, thanks for the two-year deal.' "
Sabres defenseman Toni Lydman missed his second straight game with a groin injury. Lydman has played four of Buffalo's nine games after missing the opening three with a hand ailment. Nathan Paetsch dressed as Steve Montador's blue-line partner for the second straight game.
The Devils have other connections to Sabres lore. Scout Marcel Pronovost was Buffalo's coach from 1977 to '78. Gates Orlando, another scout, played 98 games for the Blue and Gold in the mid-'80s. Dainius Zubrus, acquired by the Sabres at the trade deadline in 2007, is in his third season with the Devils. ... The two teams in baseball's World Series — the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies — border New Jersey. Lemaire was asked his preference on the morning of Game One. "Let's go with New York," he said. "They're closer."
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